Not long ago, broad form car insurance was seen as a hedge by high risk drivers against enormous rates. Their bad driving records made traditional coverage prohibitively expensive, and broad form was the only way to saving money on car insurance.

These days broad form car insurance is surging and is being purchased by consumers who don’t have to pay higher car insurance premiums. Wise Insurance Quotes wants you to know what it’s all about and whether it might be for you.

Broad Form Car Insurance Defined

For one thing, broad form car insurance covers only the person who is named on the policy. This means that no one but you can make any insurance claims for damages following an accident. This type of coverage is best for single persons who live alone, and never lend their vehicle to anyone else. Some families of college age kids use broad form as a way to insure a student at a lower cost. That’s fine as long as the student knows that he-she is completely uncovered if a buddy “borrows the car to run to the store.”

You Need to Know

While broad form car insurance is a savings device for many drivers, there are some things that everyone who is considering buying this type of coverage needs to know. Like I said before, if the vehicle is lent out there is no coverage, but it gets worse from there. In fact, if you alone are insured, you could be sued for damages and charged with negligence if someone is at fault in an accident while driving your vehicle even if you were not present at the time.

Other things that WIQ found out about broad form insurance policies:

1- The coverage is liability only. This means that there will be no coverage for any damage that is done to your vehicle in an accident.

2- You are not restricted to one vehicle. As long as you own the vehicle, or have permission to drive it, your broad form car insurance will cover you while you are driving that vehicle. You do not have to be listed on the owner’s policy in order to have coverage.

3- Coverage is secondary. This means that if you borrow a vehicle from someone else and they have insurance coverage, claims will be made on that insurance before your broad form auto insurance.

4- Not for motorcycles. Your broad form coverage will not cover you if you are riding a motorcycle, which requires separate coverage.

5- Not for company vehicles. If you are using a car for business, you will need to have commercial vehicle insurance coverage.

It is fair to ask, given the restrictions, why someone would choose broad form if their driving record didn’t make it one of few alternatives. Only one number needed for this list:

Cost: Broad form coverage can be had, even in urban areas, for as little as $50-75.00 a month, even for male drivers who haven’t yet blown out the candles on their of 25th birthday cake when car insurance rates are typically dropped. Try buying comprehensive and collision coverage for a car manufactured since 2000 that inexpensively.